Total: 2435.4 miles, 379.3
hours
Monday, 4/30 - Since we were awake and up,
we still left the marina around 8 am.
Once again, we had a beautiful
day on the water. Adams Creek is always pretty, especially the northern
end. On the lower end, homes dot the banks of the
canal. About half way up, the creek begins to wind around though forests and
fields. We could hear the birds, but
very few were noticeable.
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| Rays swimming in formation on the Neuss River |
Once we topped off the fuel
and emptied the holding tank, we tied up on the dock closest to the Marina
office and closest to the ramp. Very convenient
for Bailey’s last walk of the day. It
was only noon. Since our car is here, I had planned to go food shopping.
Unfortunately, I really wasn’t feeling good, so I chilled out instead. I will borrow
the loaner car on Wednesday and do it then.
Pete was under the gun for
meeting a deadline for work. He was so
frustrated that he couldn’t maintain a strong enough signal to email the
reports. He tried to work from the
cockpit, then the Community Center. When it still didn’t work, he grabbed our
car and drove into Oriental for a better signal. He managed to beat his deadline, but not by
much. He did a lot of grumbling once he
came back. Apparently, River Dunes has one of the internet units out, and it is
right by the boat. As for phone coverage, it is extremely weak due to being so
far form civilization. As lovely as this
marina is, we might not want to stop here in the future if Pete can’t work
while we are here.
Tomorrow, we will spend the
day in the car(s). We pick up the rental
and then head to Castle Harbor Marina, Maryland for the final shuffle of the
car. Breakfast is prepared and ready to
grab in the morning. The dog’s car
blanket, and electronics bags ready for grabbing also.
We were just about to turn
in when I received a text from Carolyn. She
is in the ER with difficulty breathing.
I will call in morning. Thoughts,
prayers, love and light are being sent her way.
Tuesday, 5/1 – We received a phone call at 4:30 this morning, Pete’s
mom is being sent to the ER due to difficulty breathing again. The incidences of CHF are increasing. She is
a remarkable lady, who continues to fight to get well.
We managed to doze on and
off until the alarm went off at 6:15. By 7:15, we were on our way to New Bern
to pick up the rental car and by 8:30 we were on our way north. We encountered no delays and arrived at
Castle Harbor by 2. It was good to see a
number of new-to-the-marina boats on the docks.
It will be interesting to see how many boats will be at the marina come
summer. The marina has replaced the
bulkhead on the southern end of the marina, and the trees on the western edge
have been trimmed. I wonder if this is in preparation for the equipment to also
replace those bulkheads. . . I hope so.
I spoke with Carolyn. She is
feeling better, but the news isn’t good.
Apparently, she and Mom are sharing the same heart issues. Pete and I discussed the possibility of continuing
on to Doylestown, but it would add another 6 hours just in traveling time. It is frustrating to be so far a way when
special friends and family are hurting.
Hopefully, the rest of our travels north on the water will be uneventful
and quick.
The car ride up was uneventful,
but our return trip was not. We
approached DC close to 5 pm and that meant traffic; heavy traffic
southbound. We did pay for the express
lanes. I don’t know just how much. When
we entered the gates, the sign showed $2.50 for the ride. When we were another 5 miles down, the sign stated
$10.50. Who know what we will be charged!
We just have to wait for the statement, but the hour travel time saved was
worth every penny!
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| Spring showing her many colors of green in Virginia |
We pulled off and found a
Panera Bread for dinner. With Bailey in tow, we were able to
eat out on the patio, overlooking the pond loaded with carp. Then it was back on the road.
Once we exited 95 in North Carolina, we still had 2 hours of back roads to Oriental. We were on Rt 33 when we came across a diagonally placed “Road Closure.” We really though it was for the cross street, but about 300 yards down, the road was completely blocked. We turned around and had to find a way to detour without adding too many additional miles. Please note that these roads are only 2 lanes, extremely curvey, no street lamps or moonlight, and lots of deer! We saw at least 30 deer within 10 feet of the road. Who know just how many deer there were in the shadows of the trees! We even came across a large yellow lab walking along the road. (There were homes about a ½ mile further down the road. Hopefully, he belonged to one of the families who lived there.) It was the most stressful 2 hours of driving I can remember.
Once we exited 95 in North Carolina, we still had 2 hours of back roads to Oriental. We were on Rt 33 when we came across a diagonally placed “Road Closure.” We really though it was for the cross street, but about 300 yards down, the road was completely blocked. We turned around and had to find a way to detour without adding too many additional miles. Please note that these roads are only 2 lanes, extremely curvey, no street lamps or moonlight, and lots of deer! We saw at least 30 deer within 10 feet of the road. Who know just how many deer there were in the shadows of the trees! We even came across a large yellow lab walking along the road. (There were homes about a ½ mile further down the road. Hopefully, he belonged to one of the families who lived there.) It was the most stressful 2 hours of driving I can remember.
We were back at the boat by
11 pm and were so tired, we by-passed our showers. The water heater was turned
off and we didn’t want to wait the 20 minutes for it to heat. I will be doing laundry tomorrow, so the bed
and we will get washed in the morning.
Oh yea. We decided that we will not be shuttling our
car for future cruises. We will UBER or
rent a car when needed. Less hassles and
a lot let expensive considering the extra time at marinas, fuel for both cars,
time away from work and from cruising!
I hope morning takes a very long
time in coming!
Wednesday, 5/2 – Pete snuck out around 6:45
am, took the dog for a walk, fed her and then took the rental car back to New
Bern. He called once there to ask if I
could look for his clip-on sunglasses and blue tooth ear piece. I searched and unpacked everything, but no
luck. He never found the glasses and ear piece, so he called Enterprise. They had just detailed the car and found both. They will have them shipped FedEX over-night.
Once back, Pete had to
prepare for a very busy day. Then he began working straight through until
5:15.
I stripped the bed and took
the laundry over to the machines. The
freezer was defrosted and cleaned, and parts of the boat interior were also
cleaned.
I headed to showers around
1:30. Friends on SV DEEGEE V, Donna and Ed, pulled in around 2. Donna and I were went food shopping on her
loaner car time and then the four of us headed over to dinner in Oriental on my
loaner car time. Since the office
closes at 6, I could keep the car for later in the evening and just leave the keys
in a designated spot.
The loaner car is the same
one we used when we were here in 2010. She now has 162,000 + miles and is dire
need of a new transmission. She got us
to Piggly Wiggly, back to the marina, and then to M & M Café in Oriental,
where Pete had his Cheese Burger, while Donna, Ed and I had their delicious Lobster
Rolls. While finishing dinner, Scott,
the harbor master, called. A boat came in late and wanted to catch a late
dinner in Oriental. I told him we would
be only a half hour more and would leave the keys for the newly arrived crew.
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| Sunset at River Dunes |
Once back on board, Pete
crashed and burned. I managed to stay awake
for Bailey’s final walk. Once off the
boat Bailey started to race around, then I heard a couple of splashes. I think she found the river otters, who have
been living here all winter, and leaving their calling cards on the dock. The harbor master said that they also sometimes
hide their food under the floating docks.
That must make quite memorable odor on warm days! The lit buildings are pretty stunning. I was able to snap a few night shots of the lit
structures around the marina.
Next: showers and bed. ‘Nite
all!
Thursday, 5/3 – We never heard DEEEGEE leave early this morning. Both of us slept soundly last night.
Pete once again has a full
day of work. I did a few things around
the boat, but spent time on the phone with Mom’s doctor discussing the possibility
and drawbacks of surgery. Then spent a
long visit with Chris on the phone and more time with Mom.
The afternoon was spent on photos
and blog. I hope I can get more posted before we leave in the morning. We will see.
Tomorrow we will head to
Belhaven so Pete can work. Saturday, we
plan on the 12-hour trip from Belhaven to Coinjock. With Mom’s health issues, we want to get
closer to home, sooner rather than later.
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K
& P
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